Copt man to face blasphemy trial over U.S. film

An Egyptian man from a Copt family arrested on suspicion of posting an anti-Islam video online that ignited Muslim protests around the world will stand trial next Wednesday on charges of insulting religions, the state news agency MENA said on Monday.

Computer science graduate Alber Saber, 27, was arrested at his Cairo home on September 13 after neighbors accused him of uploading sections of the film Innocence of Muslims and making another movie mocking all religions.

His case has raised concerns over freedom of expression under Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who came to power in free elections earlier this year after the 2011 popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Many Christian Copts have been concerned about the political rise of Islamists since Mubarak's fall and fret about any action that could stoke tensions with their Muslim compatriots.

The crude film made in California portrayed the Prophet Mohammad as a womaniser, thug and child molester. Angry Muslim crowds stormed U.S. embassies around the Arab world. In Libya, the U.S. ambassador was killed by Islamist militants.